Governing the Global Public Square by Rebecca J. Hamilton :: SSRN

Reflecting this reality, cutting-edge scholarship has converged on a triadic approach to understanding how the global public square operates - with states, users, and technology companies marking out three points on a “free speech triangle” that determines what content appears online. While offering valuable insights into the nature of online speech regulation, this scholarship—which has influenced public discussion—has been limited by drawing primarily on a recurring set of case studies arising from the U.S. and the European Union. As a result, the free speech triangle has locked in assumptions that make sense for the U.S. and the EU, but that regrettably lack broad applicability. This Essay focuses our attention on the global public square that actually exists, rather than the narrow U.S. and European-centric description that has commanded public attention. Drawing on interviews with civil society, public sources, and technology company transparency data, it introduces a new set of case studies from the Global South, which elucidate important dynamics that are sidelined in the current content moderation discussion.